National Experts Create Vision for Duluth's East Downtown, Hillside and Waterfront

By
KBJR News 1

National Experts Create Vision for Duluth's East Downtown, Hillside and Waterfront

November 13, 2012Updated Nov 13, 2012 at 11:41 AM CST

Duluth, MN (NNCNOW.COM) -- Duluth Mayor Don Ness, the City of Duluth, Duluth LISC, and community partners released The 'Duluth Creative Corridor' report, which outlines a vision for Duluth's East Downtown, Hillside and Waterfront.

The report outlines recommendations from a team of national experts that visited the city in 2005 and 2011 as part of a visioning process known as the Duluth East Downtown, Hillside and Waterfront Charrette.

The report includes input for Duluth community leaders, businesses and others to use in order to move forward with the Charrette vision and position Duluth to become one of the country's great urban spaces.

The report was created by the Duluth Progress Advisory Panel from the University of Miami, FL School of Architecture and a team of Knight Community Building Fellows.

Duluth East Downtown, Hillside and Waterfront Charrette was made possible by a grant from the Knight Foundation.

In their 2011 visit, a group of national experts in transportation, housing, and urban planning conducted a mid-course review of progress in achieving the guiding principles and recommendations from the 2005 Duluth Charrette.

Roughly 200 community members representing over 35 organizations convened in 12 separate meetings to talk about the arts, marketing and branding, economic development, connectivity, and housing in the Charrette focus area.

The team's conclusion was that the progress had been extraordinary and that in six years Duluth had accomplished what it would take many places two decades to achieve.

As part of their process, they focused on identification of key next steps in achieving distinct, vibrant, walkable urban spaces that would attract new investment, residents, and businesses in the East Downtown, Hillside, and Waterfront District.